How Do You Send an Email?
by NeonBlueLips
Summary: The boss's niece comes to town and finds that her deeply conservative family has a black sheep. She'll have to learn to break out of her shy and innocent shell in order to fit in with the Saints. Slight AU, set a year after the events of SR:TT, Matt Miller is being initiated into the Saints. MattxOC
1. Hello Steelport!

Riley looked at her ancient Nokia cell phone for the hundredth time over the past hour for some sort of text or call from her aunt, but nothing had shown up. Maybe her trusty little phone was finally giving up the ghost; it wasn't like Aria to ignore dozens of calls, especially from her young niece who was new to town.

"Aunt Aria, it's me again." Riley said into her phone when her call went through to voicemail again, "Just wondering where you are… Again. So please call me back, it's getting kind of late and there are strange people staring at me. Bye." She ended the call and put her phone back into the pocket of her cardigan.

Surely it was the careful way her mother dressed her that brought on so many stares. The deeply conservative Juliane Markus bought only the most basic and high collared dressed and blouses for the 17 year old girl, and braided her unstyled auburn hair every day. Most of the people at her small town school cruelly called her 'the Amish girl' because they didn't understand her parents' values of simple living (nor, did they understand what an actual Amish person was, apparently). Most of Riley's day was spent studying, doing chores, and practicing her violin, which worked for her. She knew nothing else. The only reason she was given a cell phone was for this trip, to make sure she could contact Aria if a situation very much like the one she was currently in were to arise.

So, it was a huge shock when her parents told her that she was going to spend her summer break with her mother's sister in the city of Steelport, whose airport was probably larger than the entire town she grew up in. She was incredibly nervous to be in such a large place, but in saying this, she was completely thrilled on the inside. Her aunt was a business woman and she couldn't wait to ride her first aeroplane to see Aria for the first time in 10 years in a huge city with brilliant lights, and buildings higher than the clouds, one of which her aunt worked from and lived in.

A person wrapped their arms around Riley's middle causing the girl to squeal loudly and kick what she hoped was her captors shins.

"Riley-bear, it's just me!" The voice of the person told the attacking girl. They put Riley down so the girl could turn, only to jump back into her arms.

"Aunty Aria!" Riley was so happy to see her aunt at this point she didn't even care that she was over an hour late. "Mom and Dad say hi, and that you have to look after me and not let me get caught up in any of the gang stuff going on at the moment," Riley laughed, but Aria shared a slightly apprehensive look with a man standing beside her.

"Yeah, yeah, we should probably get going. It's getting a little late and I want you to see a little of the city before you fall asleep," Aria tried to manoeuvre the conversation away from gangs and hoped that Riley would never find out Aria secret.

As they made their way to Aria's _Bootlegger_, she introduced Riley to the man who was currently carrying the heavy suitcase, much to Riley's chagrin. "Riles, this is Pierce. Pierce, Riley."

Pierce nodded to the girl and smiled, "Hey,"

"Pleased to meet you," Riley replied, helping him lift the bag into the trunk of the car, "I'm so sorry my bag is so heavy," She grunted as it fell into the trunk with a dull clunk.

"What do you have in there, anyway? A whole bunch of grenades?"

Riley's eyes were wide as saucers, "Why would I have grenades?" Aria came back into view to guide the girl to the passenger seat of the car,

"He's kidding, of course," She smiled widely at the confused girl before shutting the door and turning to Pierce, smacking him upside the head. "No more talk of guns, or violence or gangs, alright? She's just a kid, and a really sheltered one at that,"

"Matt's just a kid," Pierce countered quickly,

"Yeah, but he was running a fuckin' gang at, like, 14. Riley's good and innocent. She can't get caught up in my shit,"

"Aw, c'mon, she's gonna find out at some point soon. You can't hide it,"

Aria returned to the driver's side to terminate the conversation before she had to go further into the details of her family's past, most of which she hoped to forget.

She smiled at Riley when she entered the car, "You hungry? We could get some take-out before we head home,"

The girl nodded eagerly, having not eaten all day and feeling her stomach growl at the mention of food. "That'd be really nice aunty,"

Aria drove them to the closest fast food joint before taking the short trip to the high rise building she lived in, "This is it, kiddo. Your home for the summer,"

Riley was in complete awe. The building stretched up for what seemed like forever, all glass with orange accents, and she was tempted to screech in delight, "It's beautiful!" She opted to say instead.

She rushed inside to the elevator and waited for Aria to tell her which floor she was on. Pierce bet her to it, though, and pressed the penthouse button much to Riley's delight. When they reached the top, Riley was breathless as she looked around at the modern setting so very different from her own home, taking in every detail around her.

"How do you like it?" Aria asked, slightly worried by the silence.

Riley tore her eyes away from a painting and grinned, "It's amazing,"

When it finally got too late for Riley to enjoy any of the sights and meet any more people, Pierce took her down a couple floors to her bedroom. "You can do anything you like to it, y'know. Throw paint on the ceiling, make a complete mess, whatever." Though Riley doubted shed do anything like that.

It wasn't a 'room' at all, more like an entire apartment than a bedroom, complete with a two bedrooms, a small kitchen, bathroom, and a wardrobe bigger than her bedroom back home. The other bedroom was locked, making her wonder if she was to share with someone else, not that she minded the company. She was hanging her clothes up when she got her answer.

The door banged open, causing her to jump a mile in the air and when she went to inspect, she saw someone struggling with a massive box, trying to hold it while simultaneously trying to close the door and put a ring of keys back in their pocket. She rushed over to help them before they dropped the box and nudged the door with her hip to close it.

"Are you alright?" She asked, helping them put the box on the floor.

"How did you get into my flat?" They demanded before Riley had even straightened up. She looked up at the mildly annoyed looking face of a young man who couldn't have been much older than herself. He had a strange appearance to her eyes, unlike anything she'd seen in her home town. He was wearing a shade of blue lipstick and thick eyeliner the same colour as his inky hair, as well as what looked like lights in the collar of his black jacket. In all he reminded her of a Christmas tree, but she found it fascinating all the same.

When she remembered he asked her a question, she stumbled with words for a second, not quite knowing what to say, "Oh, well, Pierce brought me here, I'm staying here for the summer. I didn't know anyone else lived here…" She trailed off, hoping it was a good enough explanation.

The young man sighed audibly, squeezing his eyes shut for a second. When he opened them he looked a lot less irritated, "I suppose we're flat mates then," He said, sounding none too thrilled with the idea, "Just please stay out of my room. I really dislike people being in there without my permission."

Riley nodded, not wanting to upset the person she'd probably be seeing the most of the entire holiday, "Of course, I assume that was the locked door,"

He nodded, "Speaking of which, I should be getting this in there," He picked up the heavy box again and began to make his way down the hallway to the end room.

Riley stood, unsure if she should help or not, but instead decided to call after him, "My name's Riley, by the way!"

He turned his head only to call back, "I'm Matt,"


	2. Good Morning Sunshine

The next morning, Riley woke up for the first time in what seemed like forever without her alarm wailing at her and by God, was it a good feeling. She rolled over to look at the digital clock and saw that it was already 10:30 so she got up to face the first day of what she felt was freedom, able to wake when she wished, and dress how she wished, and drink as much coffee as she wished. Thinking of coffee, she pulled on her least frilly blouse and skirt and padded out to the kitchen to brew some, but as she riffled around all the cupboards to find the ingredient and utensils, she remembered her roommate. She looked down the hallway cautiously as if he was going to jump out of a dark corner. It would be considered rude to not offer him some, wouldn't it?

She set the electric kettle up to boil and made her way down to the end room, however, she hesitated when she raised her hand to knock. She didn't want to annoy him, but at the same time she didn't want to be rude and not offer him coffee. She hovered nervously by the door until she reasoned with herself that if she didn't at least try to from a friendship with her roommate, her summer was going to end up being awkward at best.

She knocked lightly on the door, almost hoping to not get an answer, but she heard a loud groan and a crash from within the mysterious room. Worried, she opened the door slightly, peeking in, and what she saw amazed her. The walls she could see were covered in wires with small flashing lights leading to computers and electronics she couldn't name, and desks lined the floor with desktops and laptops running coding, or some other thing that Riley couldn't understand. Then, she looked to a double pushed against the wall opposite the door. She saw Matt lying awkwardly with covers bunched up around him, one of his arms nearly touching the floor next to a vintage alarm clock much like the one she had on her side draws at home. It was practically the only thing not digital in the entire room.

She cleared her throat, trying to wake see if he was awake. He didn't react. "Um, Matt?" Still no reaction, "Matt?" She said a little louder.

This time he moaned again, burying his face in the pillow to get away from the light she was letting in, "What do you want?"

"I just wanted to know if you wanted some coffee? Or tea, if you'd prefer. I think I saw some cocoa as well," She faded off slowly, hoping he wouldn't be angry she was in his room, though technically she was still outside the threshold.

There was a pause. She waited, thinking maybe he'd fallen back to sleep, but after a few moments, she heard his voice muffled through the pillow,

"…Black, 2 sugars."

She smiled, backing out of the room, "Alright, I'll be back soon," She closed the door and retreated back to the kitchen. In all, she thought this was a good start to a companionship.

Once the coffee was made, hers with milk and his without, she walked back through to his room. This time she just opened the door and called out her return, "Here's your coffee," She smiled again, seeing he hadn't moved and placed both mugs on his side table, "Matt, I've got the coffee," She shook his shoulder and received another groan, but this time, he rolled over and sat up. His black hair was decidedly ruffled and the once perfect eyeliner was smudged across his eyelids, as well as the fact that, although she tried to ignore it, she noticed he was shirtless, wearing only a pair of boxers.

"Didn't I say you can't come in here…?" He said sleepily, as if he wasn't quite sure if he was still asleep or not.

Riley both nodded and shrugged, "Well, yes, but I was making coffee, and I thought you might like some," She picked up her mug again and took a sip, slowly backing out of the room,

"Oh, okay," was his reply. He too took a sip of the coffee and swung his legs over the side of the bed,

She took this as a dismissal and finally reached the door, all while trying to avoid looking at the less than clothed boy. She didn't know whether to say anything to him, so she closed his door without a sound and returned to her bedroom. It was the second day of her holiday and she'd already seen a man in his underwear. Her mother would be horrified.

Her phoned made a loud beep and she saw that Aria had invited her to meet some more of her friends. Funny, she didn't expect to meet any of her aunt's friends on this trip. Still, it would be rude to decline, so she pulled on her shoes and made her way to the elevator.

When the doors opened, she was surprised to see many more people in the penthouse than she'd seen the previous evening. What was even stranger was that all of them wore some purple, whether it be a shirt, or shoes or accessories. They seemed nice enough, acknowledging her as she passed them looking for her aunt and helping locate the businesswoman. They pointed her to the upstairs dining room and she saw her aunt along with Pierce and another woman she didn't know sitting at the long table. None of them looked too happy.

"Is everything okay, aunt Aria?" The blond woman looked up as Riley entered, nodding for her to sit down at the head of the table opposite her.

"There's something I never told your mom," She began, looking for the first time, lost and concerned, "I never told anyone, actually,"

The other woman looked up, "It's probably better if you just tell her," She advised, "Cut all the rest out,"

"Well, the thing is… I'm not exactly a CEO, though I'm a boss, of something…"

Riley was getting quite confused at this point. What was so bad that Aria had to lie to her family? "Aunty, it's okay. I'm sure it's not that bad," She smiled, trying to help defuse some of the tension.

"Riley, you don't understand how serious this is, you can't tell your mom." Riley imminently sobered up, looking down at the table, "The only reason you're here is because I lie to her constantly. She would never talk to me if she knew the truth,"

"Boss, seriously, Shaundi's right. You have to just say it," Pierce said, "Stop dragging it out,"

Aria nodded, taking a deep breath. "Riley, I'm the leader if the 3rd Street Saints…"

Riley thought she was ready for anything, but apparently not, "That really dangerous gang that took over Silwater and Steelport? You're the leader?" With every syllable her voice was getting high and louder, "You're the leader of the gang that was all over the news, the gang that kills people?!"

It was at this point that fate decided to play a cruel joke as someone yelled "LOOK OUT!"

Riley stood up just in time to see a missile explode in the pool, "What-?" Aria grabbed her arm and pulled her behind the bar just as the gunshots started,

"It's the damn Morningstar!" The woman called Shaundi shouted, firing at a group getting off a helicopter,

"Stragglers," Aria huffed, "Didn't they get the message that we shut them down?" She turned to Riley, whose eyes were watery, "You need to run to the elevator and get the Hell out of here," She put a ring of keys into her hand, obviously meaning for her to drive her car, and Riley couldn't even voice that she didn't have her licence, let alone know how to drive,

"But what if they shoot me?" She said in a small voice, a single terrified tear making its way down her face,

Aria did her best to give her a playful smile, "You'll be fine, kiddo," She gave the girl a quick hug, hoping her gang hadn't seen her have a soft moment, and leaped over the bar guns blazing.

Riley edged her way quickly to the side of the bar and peeked over, looking for any immediate dangers, and seeing none, sprinted to a pillar, hiding as she heard shots hit the bar. She took a deep breath, seeing how far she had to go with little cover, and heard a break in the shots. She wiped the wetness from her cheeks and began to run, ignoring all other sounds and sights other than the elevator and by some miracle, as she approached it, it opened. She sprinted full speed into it and hurriedly pressed the close door button, not caring who was in the elevator with her.

"What the Hell was going on in there?" She heard a distinct English accent say. She turned and almost cried to see Matt standing there, "I heard an explosion, but I didn't think anyone was attacking,"

"Aria said it was the Morningstar or something," Riley said shakily, "I don't know what's happened," She didn't want to think what was happening up there, and looked down at her hands, almost forgetting the keys she held. "Do you have you licence?"

He nodded, "Don't you?"

Riley handed him the keys, "I come from a really small town. You can walk from one side to another in 20 minutes flat. I never needed to learn," She tried to slow her breathing and calm herself, but she still felt a scream in the back of her throat and tears in her eyes, "Is there anywhere we can go that's safe?"  
Again, he nodded, "My old apartment should be fine, hardly anyone knew I was ever there,"

The elevator pinged and the doors opened to the lobby. Thankfully, it looked as though all the Morningstar had come by air so no one blocked their rush to the parking lot. Riley pointed out the car Aria had used the night before, and before long, Matt was driving them away from the explosions and gun shots.


End file.
